Heading home in a week.

I can't believe I only have one week left here in Ghana. It has been such a wonderful experience, and I pray that God allows me to come back soon!

We have spent most of our time at the orphanage the past few days. Just taking care of the kids, and helping wherever needed.

On Monday, Emily passed out in the middle of the night. Thankfully she landed halfway on our bed, instead of on the floor. John took her to the doctor, and they said she had Malaria. She is doing a lot better now, but she's still feeling very weak.

Here are some pictures of the kids. :)

 Frankie riding his bike

 This is what happens when the kids have oranges. 

 Luka. He and his two sisters went home to America on Friday.

 Playing with the girls.

Week two!

Sorry I haven't posted anything the past few days. I didn't have internet most of the week. But! Moving right along.

This week was full of wonderful new experience. On Monday, we washed our clothes by hand. Some of the older boys were making fun of us because we weren't doing it right. But our clothes came out clean, so it's all good.

Tuesday-Saturday, Lola and I stayed at City Of Refuge with Johnbull and Stacy Omorefe. Their ministry is used to rescue children who have been sold into slavery. There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today. Craziness.

It was so awesome getting to know the Omorefe family, and hearing about all that God has done, and is doing in their lives. They have one safe house that is a home for several children who have been rescued from child trafficking. They hope to build many more safe houses in the future to provide homes for children in need.

They have a school at City Of Refuge, and it's called "Faith Roots International." They have 121 students, Pre-k through 6th grade. They hope to expand the school and add a Jr & Sr high in the near future. Lola and I got to experience the school first hand on Wednesday. Lola helped in the 5th/6th grade class, and I helped with 1st grade class. It was really cool getting to see some of what goes on in the school.

On Thursday, we went to the city of Koforidua, to go to the bead market. There were literally millions of beads. It was insane. Lola and I were walking to meet up with John and Stacy, and we passed this man who informed that I was "the one". He was yelling and everybody was staring at him. Needless to say, I kept my head down and walked straight over to John and Stacy. =P

Friday, we helped in the school's store. They give the kids kind cash for good behavior, doing well in school, things like that. They get to buy little toys and other random stuff. It's kind of like an AWANA store (For those of you who know what that is. =P). Friday night is movie night at City Of Refuge, so we cuddled up with the kids and watched a movie.

Saturday, we spent the morning with the kids, before we had to leave. John and Stacy drove us back to Accra, where we met up with Sarah to go shopping. We went to one of the markets, and it was insane. There were people evvverywhere. But we had a lot of fun.

Today, we had church here in the orphanage. Love that Africa music! After church, they had a family meeting. It's a time for everyone to express any issues or problems that have been going on in the home. Basically, all the older kids get really worked up about things, and they all make fun of each other. So much sibling love. =P I'm not sure how they got on the subject, but pastor John (the leader of the orphanage) asked the older boys to go get their underwear, and some of them came back with it on their heads. Part of it was serious, but we were laughing a majority of the time. Once they were done with family meeting, we ate lunch and headed to the beach. There was about 40 of us total. The beach is a couple miles from the house, so we took a couple taxis to get there. You would be amazed how many people can fit in these little taxis. When we were leaving the beach, we didn't have any taxis, so we had to start walking home. We walked a little ways, and then one taxi stopped. We crammed as many kids we could, and Emily went with them. The rest of us had to walk home. That was pretty interesting, but we had fun.

So yeah! Been another awesome week, and I'm really enjoying my time here in Ghana! God is so good!

Week one: Complete!

It has been a crazy week! Met tons of new people, experienced new things, and had a blast! 

The day we got here was very long. I didn't feel very well when we landed in Accra, but praise God I was feeling better by the time we got to the orphanage! The ride from the airport to the orphanage was pretty interesting. Seeing the streets of Ghana for the first time, and of course the crazy driving. People here...oh man. They drive where they want, when they want. And they very rarely stop. Pretty sure I wince at least once every time we're in a vehicle. 

The next few days, Sarah and I spent most of our time in the orphanage while Emily was running around doing other things. We had such a blast getting to know all the kids. It was pretty overwhelming at first having 20+ kids call us mommy, but we're used to it now and are enjoying being mommy for all these little ones.

Today, we went to a village up in the Volta region. It took over 3 hours to get there, and we had 16 people in a 12 passenger van. We were pretty squished! Once we got there, we met the village leader and then led a church service. It was really cool to see the guys do an impromptu service, and to see all the villagers slowly gather around to see what was going on. After the service we gave some gifts to the kids; clothes, paper, pencils, stickers. Things we all take for granted in America, but they were so thrilled about it. Once we handed everything out, they all went and played soccer. And of course we were all very, very dirty. Once we got back to the orphanage, the kids were absolutely thrilled to see us. They were jumping up and down and screaming. You'd think we'd been gone for a month. Nope, just a day. =P It's such a joy to see them get so excited about such little things, but also kind of sad. In America we have everything we want at our finger tips, but they're content just to have a piece of paper and a few pencils to color with. Being here and seeing what little they have, makes me realize just how much stuff we have in America. And we have a ton. But they have Jesus, and He meets all their needs. I love getting to love on all these kids. It is such a blessing! 

Its been really awesome getting to experience all the different things here in Ghana, I can't wait to see what God has in store for the next couple weeks! 

A Ghanaian wedding, a trip to Chorkor, and everything in between.

Yesterday was pretty interesting. We went to deliver food to a couple families in Chorkor, and ended up at a Ghanaian wedding on our way there. Our driver had to be a witness for his cousins wedding (Just a short ceremony in a courthouse type place). We had no idea we were going to a wedding til we got there, so Lola, Sarah, and I were in our shorts and tshirts. It was really cool getting to experience their culture. Ghanaian weddings last about four days; they have a different day to legalize the marriage, a ceremony in the church, the reception, and the cutting of the cake. It's pretty crazy. 

After the wedding we headed to Chorkor. Lola asked if Sarah and I needed to use the restroom, cause it would be our last chance for a few hours. We walked over to see that the bathroom was three concrete walls, a door, and a slanted floor so the pee goes down the drain. Yeah, I decided I didn't need to use the restroom. =P It's about a 20 minute walk to Chorkor, and Lola, Sarah, and I all got to carry a bag of rice on our head. The Ghanaians were laughing at because we weren't doing it right. :P It was heartbreaking to see the living conditions in Chorkor. It was so dirty, and the people literally have nothing. I've seen pictures and heard about places like that, but it was way different to actually walk through it. 

Once we got back from Chorkor we spent the evening in the orphanage and got some much needed rest. We're having so much fun loving on all these kids. :) 

Life in Ghana.

Hello! Life here in Ghana has been pretty crazy the past few days. Monday night, went to pick up a couple people from the airport, and pick up my lost bag. When we were leaving the parking lot we were hit by another taxi. We were all fine and there was only minor damage to the car. Praise God! There driving here is crazy. They like to drive in the middle of the road, and they use their horns for everything. Oh, and they very rarely stop. That has been an interesting experience.

A typical day here starts at about 8am for us. The adults get up at 5, but we are never up quite that early. We get ready and have breakfast, and then it's time for school. Emily, Sarah, and I teach school for the little ones (preschool - 1st/2nd grade) We didn't know before we got here that we would be teaching school, so it's taking some getting used to, be we're enjoying it a lot. After school it's time for lunch. We have had a loooot of beans since we got here. Almost every meal. But the food is pretty good for the most part, just very spicy. After lunch it's nap time. Which is really nice, because usually we get to take a nap after the kids go down. Once nap time is over we either play outside or watch a movie. They looove to watch movies. After that it's time for dinner and then baths. We have the wonderful privilege of bathing the children, outside, with a bucket. That has definitely been an interesting experience. After that we play and then put them to bed. Once they're all in bed we head back to our room to shower (from a bucket), and try to give all you guys an update before we fall asleep.

Tomorrow, James, Sarah, and I will go to Chorkor with Lola to deliver some food to a couple of families there. It's a little more rugged than it is here, so that will be an experience for us.

Thank you so much for all your prayers! They are greatly appreciate. :)

We made it!

After delays, rushing through security in Knoxville, a beautiful sunset on the way to Atlanta, and a very long flight across the ocean, we finally made it to Accra about 1:15 Sunday afternoon. James and I were expecting a blast of heat the second we stepped off the plane, but thankfully it wasn't too bad! One of my bags didn't make it off the plane in Accra, but Emily and I will go back to the airport and get it this evening.

We arrived at GMI and spent the rest of the day getting to know the kids. This morning, Sarah and I got to teach school for the preschoolers, and hopefully this afternoon or tomorrow we'll go see Lola at AOH! (She's a lady from Knoxville staying at another orphanage here in Ghana)

It has been so much fun getting to love on these kids! They call all three of us "mommy", which is kind of overwhelming when a bunch kids are shouting it all at once, but I'm loving every minute of it!

I'll try to upload pictures on Facebook at least every couple days so you guys can see what we're up to. Thank you so much for all your prayers!

-Rebekah

Here today, Ghana tomorrow! (Props to Mr. Rosenberger for the title)

It's finally here! I will be leaving for Ghana tomorrow afternoon! (1/21)
Thank you guys so much for all the prayer, support, and encouragement. It has been such a blessing as I get ready leave!

A big thank you to Jehovah Jireh for providing everything I need. God is so good!

I'll keep you updated while I'm gone!
-Rebekah